Three years after his maiden Dakar success, Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Team/ Michelin) finished on top again to earn Michelin’s 36th victory on the cross-country classic, as well as KTM’s 18th on the trot in association with the French tyre firm. The Australian finished clear of his team-mate and last year’s victor Matthias Walkner, while Sam Sunderland (Red Bull KTM Factory Team/Michelin) made it an all-KTM/Michelin top three.

After winning last season’s visit to Marrakech, Mahindra Racing finished on top again this time around thanks to Jérôme d’Ambrosio who was joined on the podium by Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns and Sam Bird. Antonio Felix da Costa tangled late in the race with his BMW I Andretti Motorsport team-mate while leading, and defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne (Techeetah) span at the race’s first turn.

FIA WEC - Toyota and Michelin win in rainy Shanghai

FIA WRC - Sixth WRC title for Ogier and Toyota’s fourth, all with Michelin

Toyota will be partying hard tonight after winning the famous Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time since its debut attempt at the world famous race in 1985. This time around, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and the team’s star recruit Fernando Alonso delivered the necessary speed and reliability in their N°8 TS050-Hybrid/Michelin to spearhead a one-two finish for the Japanese carmaker, ahead of the N°7 sister car (+2 laps). Porsche/Michelin celebrated no-nonsense wins in LM GTE Pro and Am, while G-Drive Racing was unassailable in LMP2 with the N°26 Oreca07. True to its ‘Winning performance to the line’ claim, Michelin secured its 21st straight Le Mans success.

The two Michelin-equipped Toyota TS050-Hybrids are running smoothly at the top of the order at Le Mans after 17 hours, with the N°8 car of Alonso/Buemi/Nakajima currently in front. The Japanese team has been running a quadruple stint strategy since the start. Porsche GT Team/Michelin’s N°92 and N°91 911 RSRs continue to set the pace in LM GTE Pro, and the German make leads the Am class, too. The N°26 G-Drive Oreca07 continues to stand out as the car to beat in LMP2.

H-18: Everything going to plan for Toyota/Michelin

We’re a quarter of the way into the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours and, for the moment, nothing has spooked Toyota’s game plan. The Japanese make’s two cars are in first and second places after six hours, with the N°8 prototype of Alonso/Nakajima/Buemi setting the pace, shadowed closely by the N°7 sister car. Porsche/Michelin tops the LM GTE Pro and Am orders, while the G-Drive Racing Oreca07 is in command in LMP2. Both Toyotas have been quadruple stinting on their Michelin slicks.

It’s a case of ‘so far, so good’ for Toyota Gazoo Racing which has been lapping comfortably ahead of the field since the start. The two Michelin-equipped TS050-Hybrids have swapped the lead several times and the first place is currently the property of the N°8 prototype. This is the car of ex-F1 world champion Fernando Alonso who covered four stints in the car earlier this evening to make his official Le Mans race debut.

There were questions before the start about how big a threat the non-hybrid LMP1 hybrids would be this weekend but they haven’t really been a match for Toyotas. The best of the them are the N°17 SMP Racing and N°3 Rebellion Racing cars which are already one and two laps behind as things stand.

Despite being penalised by the so-called BoP changes (Balance of Performance) which were announced on Friday, Porsche has been as dominant in the race as it was in qualifying.

The LM GTE Pro class is effectively topped by the N°92 919 RSR/Michelin of Christensen/Estre/Vanthoor who were gifted an enviable safety margin when their opponents were caught in different ‘trains’ during the first Safety Car period. Until that point, they had been locked in a thrilling scrap with the similar N°91 car. Second place is provisionally held by the N°81 BMW/Michelin, with the N°93 Porsche in third spot.

In LM GTE Am, the leader at the moment is the N°77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche which has been performing strongly since the start. Second is the N°56 Porsche.

In front in LMP2 is the N°26 G-Drive Oreca07 which is up to sixth overall. Its closest chaser had been the N°36 Alpine until the French car span a few moments ago. That allowed the Michelin-equipped Panis Barthez Compétition Ligier (N°23) and Idec Sport Oreca07 prototypes to move up to second and third places.

In a couple of hours’ time, it will be dark at Le Mans and that will mark the start of a new phase of the race. Will there be any major overnight upsets? We’ll be back with another mid-race update in the morning…

Round 1 of the 2018/2019 Formula E Championship in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, was won by Antonio Felix da Costa. The Portuguese BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver was joined on the podium by Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah/Michelin) and Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Mahindra Racing/Michelin).

A number of key decisions were taken at the FIA World Council meeting that was held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on December 5. Many of them referred to some of the global championships in which Michelin is active, namely the WEC, WRC and Formula E.

After claiming the season’s opener in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso concluded the 2018 MotoGPTM World Championship with victory in Valencia. The Italian was unfazed when the race was red flagged due to heavy rain and he went on to finish clear of Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR/Michelin) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing/Michelin).